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Times-Advocate, 1978-04-06, Page 4Page 4 Times-Advocate, April 6, 1978 --------------------------------------------------- . ©> i; Wt' Ci N Anarchy is frightening Area residents had an opportunity to see anarchy at work last week when the United Auto Workers closed down traffic in the Huron Park area. There were hundreds of innocent victims of the mob rule, even the children of the community who had school classes cancelled when their teachers were prevented from entering the area. It was a frightening situation for some of the people who innocently arrived to work at the outset of the af­ fair. There were indications that some even locked themselves in buildings, fearing bodily harm from the pickets. It is a deplorable state, indeed, when people are prevented from under­ taking their normal activities either through direct or indirect intimidation. While the people who are striking against Fleck Manufacturing no doubt have appreciated some of the support they have received from the UAW, they must surely be now asking themselves if the type of support shown on Thurs­ day was in their best interests when even their innocent friends and neighbors were victimized. Somehow, people have lost sight of the cause, and as a result are tearing a community apart. Just a facade Canada, which has earned an inter­ national reputation as being a benevolent bosom to immigrants from around the world, is rapidly losing that distinction. Canadianism used to be thought of as a mosaic that welcomed difference. To qualify as part of the mosaic meant living and working in this vast land, regardless of the spell­ ing of your last name or the color of your skin. Last week, a London family which moved to Canada from South Africa 10 months earlier, decided to move back to that strife-torn country because they could no longer endure the racism that was making their children’s lives here a misery. London, apparently, poses a greater threat to the Arab family’s welfare than all the racial turmoil and political upheaval which has made South Africa one of the most insecure places to live on this planet. It’s true that children can be horribly cruel to each other without realizing the impact of their actions. And it is also true that some children are picked on by their classmates simply because they are different...either shorter, fatter, taller, or smarter than the rest. But in this case, the difference was racial. The children who led the attack picked out the Arab children from all the other “different” sorts of children in their school and made them targets of abuse. The choice did not just happen random- ly. Some adults, somewhere, sometime, created the prejudice in these young minds. After all, babies don’t emerge from the womb hating East Indians. It would be easy to dismiss the racism as the product of unthinking youth. People who hide behind these excuses are the same kind of enlighten­ ed do-gooders who sit in their manicured subdivisions preaching social equality, only to evacuate the neighborhood should an undesirable move in. This is probably what one Londoner who works closely with re­ cent immigrants meant when she described discrimination against foreigners as “sneaky racism”. It’s the kind that offers aliens a superficial goodwill, but in the crunch won’t hire them or give them a place to live. More and more, Canadians are lear­ ning that their country’s reputation as den mother to the world’s wanderers is really just a facade. The Gazette, University of Western Ontario BATT’N AROUND ........... with the editor The readers write Teacher, student air view Dear Editor: I am rather surprised at the action of Huron County Council in voting to express support for the policies of the Huron County Board of Education in the middle of a dispute with it’s secondary school teachers. It would almost seem to be a case of politicians doing more than a little politicing with an election coming up in only a few months. As part of one of the largest group of employees in the County, teachers pay considerable taxes toward the support of municipal government, including the Huron County Council and the Board of Education. If the saving of money is the motive for local govern­ ment bodies in these moves, please take note that I too would like to pay as low tax­ es as possible. I would like to feel that County Council was considering my needs and interests. Would County Council like it if some other group began making public statements about it’s dealings with it’s employees? Sincerely Jerry McDonnell * + * Dear Editor: I am a grade twelve stu­ dent at South Huron District High School. My letter to you concerns the strike by secondary school teachers in Huron County. In my opinion, even after attending a meeting of On­ tario Secondary School Teachers Federation, the board members were justified in agreeing to lock­ out the teachers. It is futile and expensive to bus students to empty schools. Correcting an article written by Matthew McClure, the teachers have indeed “attempted to obtain support from the public by informing them as to their stand.” Area households received a pamphlet in the mail en­ titled, “The Classroom is the issue” printed by Districe 45 O.S.S.T.F. It is the board who has made no attempt to explain their reasons for wanting to delete certain guidelines in the 1977/78 contract. On February 15, the teachers at South Huron picketed in front of the school, participating in the first of several rotating" strikes by the teachers in Huron County. Arriving at the school, I saw the “adults” I had respected for the past four years carrying picket signs and parading jovially up and down in front of the school. I was not only a disappointed senior student, but a dis­ illusioned one as well. In the past few weeks, it appears to me that the board and teachers’ union have allowed this strike, to become a personal affair. Presently, negotiations have ceased because both parties are employing face saving tactics. If the board were to ac­ quiesce now, it would only be setting a precedent for teachers in other counties. It has been heard of for a person who has failed to succeed in the political realm to turn their so-called leadership abilities in other directions. I hope Ms. Weary’s aspirations aren’t the reason for which students in Huron County are suffering. Quoting Ms. Weary in the London Free Press, March 31,1978, “More students will benefit in the long run, because of us doing this now, than will suffer in the short run.” As a student, I ask, “How do we know?” I for one no longer trust the teachers’ union nor respect their union members. If the teachers have no concern for the students of today, are we to assume they will have con­ cern for future students? If indeed the teachers are striking for quality educa­ tion, then what have we students been receiving in the past? What are we receiving now? And what will future studehts receive? We too request a solution, and soon! Sincerely, Sandra McLeod One of the basic problems in writing a weekly column is the fact that by the time it appears in print, some of the situations on which one is expounding may well have changed significantly. This is particularly the case in ongoing events, such as the current teacher strike in Huron County. The opinions a person expresses while writing a column on Friday may well be different than those he would draw by the time they appear in print on the following Thursday. So, readers should keep that in mind as they progress through that which follows. There is little doubt but what the strike has reached the “serious stage”. The time lost from the classroom has already jeopardized the year for many students, and more students will be joining that list as time progresses. Of equal importance, is the fact that total frustration has set in for both groups directly involved in the negotiations, and there is a real con­ cern that some of the bitterness will take a considerable time to dissipate. Some of the frustration and bitterness is also building up among parents and students, indicating that the atmosphere in Huron schools could be extremely cool, even when the current situation is settled and things start getting back to normal. * * * It was suggested last week that the public should become more vocal in their attitude toward the strike. Board negotiating chairman Cayley Hill ask­ ed that they write letters to the newspapers or the board so their posi­ tion could be determined. While there is obvious merit in hav­ ing the public outline their support for one side or the other in an attempt to bring the strike to a conclusion, it is doubtful if the plea will meet with much response, although we would not discourage that action. One of the basic problems is that parents are naturally uneasy about ex­ pressing views, particularly those which may be in condemnation of the teachers. They fear their students may be subjected to some type of “punishment” when they do return to classes. It is obviously extremely difficult for people to express opinions that may strain relationships with their friends. After all, the majority of teachers in­ volved in the strike are highly respected individuals in their com­ munities and enjoy social, recreational and many other common pursuits with the parents of the students whom they teach. The same holds true with bo"ard members. While the parents are concerned about the situation, they naturally are reluctant to express opinions that would jeopardize those relationships. Suffice it to say the public would like to see the matter settled, although we suggest their lack of direct input tends to indicate they favor the board. That opinion is based on the fact that people would be more openly criticial of board members if they felt them to be in the wrong because they are so small in numbers (61 to 3 in our basic readership area) in comparison to the teachers. People would be less hesitant about jeopardizing relations with three people than 61, particularly when those three are elected officials. * * * There is a suggestion that most parents feel the teachers’ demands are excessive, particularly in view of their current pay and working conditions. That attitude hardened considerably when the teachers presented their re­ quests for the 1978-79 contract in which they are seeking a pay increase outlin­ ed by the board as 13.5 percent. Based on figures outlined in the unsettled con­ tract, that would bring the average salary to $26,332 per year for the secon­ dary school teachers. That is totally unrealistic and no doubt has prompted parents and tax­ payers to line up with the board even more adamantly. It is perhaps unfair, in view of the fact the teachers were no doubt listing it only as a figure on which to negotiate, but it may well have been a tactical error particularly when they have given every indication they are becoming more militant and perhaps not willing to negotiate as much as previously. * * * The teachers have steadfastly main­ tained that they are on strike .for a “simple issue”: the classroom. They want a fair balance in class size and Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley Born too soon? by Richard Charles Starting at the bottom Warm air rises, so good attic and wall insulation will stop the heat from escaping and keep a home snug - right? Only half marks awarded for that answer, because heat escapes in any direction where it finds something cooler; and that has accounted for a lot of cold feet in the history of the human race. A floor laid over a crawl space, open foundation or concrete slab without effective insulation can make life mis­ erable and waste a lot of heating energy. A crawl space may be either heated or unheated, and this determines how it is insulated. For a heated crawl space the proper insulating material is extruded polystyrene, a blue material that is also known as “styrofoam”®. This is not only a good insulator, but it resists moisture, and that’s important down under the house. Apply polystyrene insulation to the outside of the wall of the heated crawl space. It should be at least 2 inches thick, and 3 inches is even better, but this will depend on what your local climate demands and on how much you can invest in insulation. In addition, from the base of the crawl space wall outward you need to lay the same insula­ tion to a width of at least 2 feet all round; and 3 to 4 feet is even better along with the 3-inch thickness. If a porch, driveway or some other obstruction prevents you from fitting all the insulation to the outside, switch to the inside at that point, but make the outside and inside insulation overlap where they meet. Remember, too, that inside insulation with polystyrene needs a gypsum covering as protection against fire. If there is no vapour barrier, lay one on the floor of the crawl space and cover it with two inches of sand. You don’t need to insulate heating ducts or pipes that run through the crawl space once you have insulated it. With a crawl space that must be ventilated and cannot be heated, you have to insulate under the house floor using batt or blanket material, and preferably with a vapour barrier attached (make sure this is on the warm side, which Tjmes Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 | I imes-Advocate SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 (*£na subsc....._.. Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00 There are times when I am con­ vinced that I was born 30 years too soon. One of them occurs when I see the wonderful opportunities for travel that young people have today. They make me pea-green with envy. When you and I were young, Maggie, most of us didn’t get much farther than the next town. A minority visited the city occasionally, and it was con­ sidered a big deal. And a whale of a lot of people never did get to see a big city in their entire lives. And were no worse off for it, of course. Man, how that has changed. Nowadays, young people go galloping off to the four corners of the earth with no more thought about it than we’d have given to a weekend in the city. They’re so blase about it that it’s sickening to an old guy like me, who has always yearned to travel, and never had the time or money or freedom to do it. In my day, during the Depression, the only people who could afford to travel were the hoboes. They could afford it because they didn’t have any money. They rode free on the tops and inside the box-cars of freight trains. And they didn’t have any respon­ sibilities except the next meal and a place to sleep. Looking back, I was one of the lucky ones. Most of my generation of youth was forced by circumstances to stay home, get any job available, and hang on to it like grim death, never ven­ turing forth on the highroads of life. I was the envy of my class-mates, when, at seventeen, I nabbed a job on the upper lake boats, and could come home bragging of having been to such bizarre, exotic places as Duluth, Sault Ste. Marie, Detroit, the Lakehead. Today’s youngsters would sneer at such bourgeois travels. They exchange anecdotes about Morocco and Moscow, Athens and Australia, Paris and Port- au-Prince, Delhi and Dubrovnik. Fair nauseates me, it does. By the time he was 22, my own son had lived on both coasts of Canada, been to Mexico, New Orleans, Texas, Israel, Ireland and a hundred other places that are just names in an atlas to me. Right now he’s in Paraguay, South America, and has visited Argentina and Bolivia. He speaks four languages. I speak one, not too well, 4. /jhtb- teaching load across the county. As we have mentioned previously, the vast majority of teachers at South Huron District High School already enjoy the standards for which they are fighting. They suggest the quality of education will be better served by smaller class sizes. There can be little dispute with that claim. However, class size is not the only result of the terms of the contract. A clause also determines the number of periods to be taught each day and it would give each teacher two “spares” in the daily timetable. In reality, the clause does not necessarily reduce class size, but rather reduces the number of classes a teacher faces each day. There may well be benefits for the students, but smaller classes is not necessarily one of the main ones. It is a battle for job security through less classroom time and pupil contact per teacher on average, as well as a greater say in the operation of the educational system. While there is no doubt the teachers are professionals who should have considerable input into the system, they refuse to face the realities of the current economic and political situation. W * ’A The major problem now associated with the strike is the fact that hundreds of Huron secondary school students are in danger of losing their school year. In addition, reports indicate that many others have already decided to take jobs and not return to classes when the issue is settled. In view of the plight of the students, it is abundantly clear that the issues at stake in the strike do not justify a con­ tinuation. The striking teachers can not con­ scientiously claim that their action is worth the price being paid by the students, and while they may claim there is equal onus on the board to set­ tle the matter, the fact remains it was the teachers who took the drastic ac­ tion in going on strike and it is they who should now take the step in re-opening the classrooms. My nephews have seen mire countries than Chris Columbus or Sir Francis Drake. One’s an airline pilot and knows Europe, North America and the West Indies the way I know my way to school. Another has worked in the Canadian north, Quebec, the Congo, Jamaica, and is now living in Costa Rica. My nieces are just as peripatetic. They’ve been, among them to the West Coast, France, England, Russia. A four-day trip to New York, for them, is scarcely worth mentioning. Migawd, I’d have given my left eyeball to see New York when I was their age! I thought it was pretty earth-shaking the first time I saw Toronto. Toronto, ye-e- c-ch! Thousands of university students annually take a year off, borrow some money, stuff a packsack and head out for a year of bumming around Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, ■ India, Rotten kids! In the last decade, the travel bug has — Please turn to Page 5 means “up”). Hold the insulation in place with building paper or chicken wire stapled to the joists, or with other supporting material. Cover the crawl space floor with a vapour barrier under two inches of sand. If heating ducts or pipes run through the unheated crawl space make sure that they are either on the warm side of the insulation, or are insulated separately with batt or blanket insulation wrapped round them or laid lengthwise. Special batts have a vinyl cover for this purpose. Use tape to hold the insulation in place. With open foundations, insulate under the floor in the same way as you would an unheated crawl space, but also protect the insulation with building paper or wood against wind, animals and other threats. If the spaces between the floor joists are covered in, you will probably need to have a contractor blow loose insulation into these spaces. A foundation consisting of concrete slabs should be insulated on the outside as with a heated crawl space, or basement. The Office of Energy Conservation, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources has a lot more information to help you insulate crawl spaces and foundations. Write for a booklet called Keeping the heat in to Box 3500, Station C, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4G 1. For information on government grants for re-insulation, write to: Canadian Home Insulation Program, P.O. Box 700, St. Laurent, Quebec H4L 5A8;or phone collect (514) 341-1151. riovMn memory 55 Years Ago Mr. Chas. Coward, who has been visiting here from the West, left for his home this week. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Willis have returned from Detroit and have rented a farm in Stephen township. Mr. H. S. Nicklin has been promoted to the position of city engineer of Guelph. Warden B. W. F. Beavers was in Stratford last week with a committee from Huron County meeting with reference to uniting the county jails of Huron and Perth, the prisoners to be cared for at Stratford. The season has been very poor for the making of maple syrup. There has been only one or two days good run. 30 Years Ago Mrs. B. S. Phullips of town observed her 98th birthday this week. Elmer Bell was elected president of the Huron-Perth Baseball Association at a meeting in Hensail town hall last Thursday. The Exeter Lions are renewing their campaign for funds for Food for Britain. Messrs. Russell Snell, Bert Borland and Roy Campbell have just completed a ten- week course in carburation and electrical work in London. Members of the Exeter IOOF and Mystic Order of Samaritans of Thebes Sanctorium, London were hosts to members of that order at the Exeter arena, More than 200 members from London, Brantford, Toronto, Windsor and Royal Oak , Michigan, attended. 20 Years Ago The district cancer campaign with an objective of $4,000, started this week in Exeter and Dashwood and will continue in other municipalities throughout the month. Members of the Exeter Legion Ladies Auxiliary conducted the canvass in Exeter. Bishop G. N. Luxton, London, announced this week the Rev. Bren De Vries, Blyth will succeed Rev. N. D. Knox as rector of Trivitt Memorial Church and St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Hensail. Huge crowds jammed A & H Food Market over the past 10 days to help the firm celebrate its first an­ niversary. 15 Years Ago Exeter’s last hitching post, symbol of a past era, will soon disappear. The post, located near the corner of Huron and Main Streets will be removed along with the trees in that area to make room for the new highway entrance. Exeter Kinettes, with only about a dozen members has donated $500 to the Exeter and District Swimming Pool campaign. Mrs. Art Clarke presented the check to campaign chairman G. John Goman. Rev. Bren De Vries, Anglican rector here for the past five years, announced Sunday he has been ap­ pointed to a mission parish in the Edmonton diocese. He will assume his duties there in June. Exeter midgets failed in their bid for the town’s first Ontario title Tuesday night. They lost the final game of a good series to Huntsville 8-7.